THE BEST 100 PLACES TO INVEST

THE BEST 100 PLACES TO INVEST
The property investment book of the year.


by Neil Jenman

If anyone deserves to be paid thousands of dollars for real estate investment advice, it's Rick Osborn.

But Rick Osborn is not a property spruiker. He's a 63-year-old retiree who's just written one of the best property investment books of all time.

Unfortunately, there are three things wrong with this book. The title, the cover and the promotion.

The book is called, The Penguin Guide to Retirement Hotspots - the best 100 places to live in Australia & New Zealand. It has a dull blue-grey cover showing the backs of a mature (okay, elderly) couple carrying a picnic basket towards a beach. To complete the boredom, there's an image of a coffee cup with two biscuits on a saucer. I found the book in the travel section at my local bookstore.

If you're still reading, do yourself a favour. Forget the title and ignore the cover.

Better still, pretend there's an investment seminar coming to town and it's called The 100 Best Places to Invest in Australia & New Zealand. Imagine the tickets are a thousand dollars each and the audience numbers are severely limited.

And imagine that, when you arrive at the seminar, you hear an enthralling speaker who gives you a comprehensive list of hot investment spots.

Well, this twenty-seven-dollar book is better than the imaginary thousand dollar seminar.

Now, again, here's the common problem in the real estate industry. The best advisers with the best information are seldom the best promoters. They don't shout, they don't make wild claims and they don't charge thousands of dollars. And they certainly don't rip anyone off - well, other than themselves. When you compare the charges of the good guys and the bad guys, it's all topsy-turvy. The crooked spruikers are ripping off consumers. The honest advisers are ripping off themselves.

The amount of work that Rick Osborn has put into his book is staggering. It must have taken him years - or many mad months - to compile such research.

Perhaps he did write this book to assist retirees but he has also written a great investment book - and I think he did it accidentally.

Here's four reasons why I believe that anyone who is remotely interested in property should buy this book.

First, the information.

If the secret of good writing is to tell readers something they don't know, Rick Osborn has done it. Although the book is compact at 369 pages, it's packed with interesting and valuable information.

Second, the accuracy.

Most people are fed up with being told that such-and-such an area is wonderful only to find that the reality bears little resemblance to the hype. I have been to many of the places mentioned in this book - and Rick Osborn has got it exactly right. What a pleasure to read the truth.

Third, the frank no-nonsense style. It was the straight style, more than anything else, which made me realise I was not reading a retirement book, but an investment book.

For example, the Queensland town of 1770 is often touted by spruikers as "the next Noosa". In a tone typical of the book, Osborn writes, "You'd need both vision and guts if you are punting on 1770 becoming another Noosa."

Fourth, the places themselves. Be careful. You'll find yourself wanting to live or invest in so many places. It's obvious that Rick Osborn has carefully chosen his 100 selected areas (unlike others who just grab a few of the popular spots).

In each area, he asks and then answers the question, 'Why live there?'

Here's what he says about the Southern Highlands of New South Wales. "Picture an open fire, a glass of red wine, the sound of classical music and the smell of roast lamb from the oven. Outside your window there are fields of spring daffodils or autumn colours and in the nearby bushland grey kangaroos are grazing and birds chattering. Cosy pubs and restaurants are just around the corner."

Start packing.

This is a wonderful book, one of the best I have ever read about property. It's not just for retirees, it's for everyone. Indeed, Rick Osborn has dedicated the book to four people - "Matilda, Tristan, Hamish and Coco, Retirees of 2060". His grandchildren?

Here's a prediction - This will be one of those books that, in many years from now, will be found in a garage sale or an attic.

As readers of the future thumb the pages, they will think, "If only I'd read this book in 2006".

Now's your chance.

Whether it's an accident or not, this is the property investment book of the year.

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Neil Jenman has no financial interest in this book. Nor has he ever met or communicated with the author.

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This report was taken from the reports page of the Jenman website

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